I got in contact with Simon Carradan (nee Brodie) in October last year and foolishly wired the man $4,000 for what he claimed was a hypo-allergenic cat. My cat was to be delivered a few weeks later on November 8th.
That date came and went, as did the next date, and the one after that. At that point I finally woke up and did the googling I should have done on Day 1. What I found were an astonishing number of stories just like mine. People were posting their experiences buying an Allerca cat from Lifestyle Pets in blogs all over the Internet. The vast vast majority of these posts were from people like myself who paid thousands of dollars and never got their cat even months after the predicted delivery date. There were several other reports from people who did receive their cats, but were allergic to them.
Finally, there were a handful of reports from people who claimed to have eventually received a hypo-allergic cat. I'm glad someone got a cat (if you believe those reports), but the number of these reports was DWARFED by the number of people who never got a cat, or got a cat that simply was not hypo-allergenic.
Finding reports of people who got refunds was even harder than finding people who reported receiving one of these near-mythical cats.
All of the unsatisfied customers had one thing in common. They had all been personally strung along for months and sometimes years by Simon Brodie, whose skill at these types of delay tactics is remarkable. I asked for my refund at the end of November of 2008 and was promised it would be given to me within a week. Four months and countless excuses later, I still don't have my money.
Simon's latest venture is a company called Carradan Skis. Whether you believe that Mr. Brodie/Carradan is a crook or merely incompetent, I'd urge anyone seeking Carradan Skis to research them carefully before forking over any money.
My next step is to file a lawsuit against Lifestyle Pets. If you're interested in joining a class action lawsuit, please contact me at: allercaclassaction@gmail.com
For more information and other examples of people who got scammed by Simon, please check out the following links:
An investigation into possible fraud at Allerca/Lifestyle Pets
A site created by another abused customer
Tons of comments from people who got ripped off by Simon
Another investigation into Simon Brodie/Carradan and his products
That last article has a great collection of links with more information. Please don't get fooled into giving this man any money.
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I got one of his cats and I am terribly allergic to them... but the myth was real, I am totally not allegic at all to my Alleca cat (I named him Wilson). I ordered and paid another $6000 (paid extra for the "bob cat" exotic gene) for another one over a year ago and still no cat, no refund, only one return call to my wife w/ a voicemail saying the "company lost its funding". Now I just want that $6K back. Help if any one can. But, the one cat I did receive from him was legit.
ReplyDeleteHi Rjr,
ReplyDeleteIf you'll email me your contact information (and I can be reached at: allercaclassaction at gmail dot com), I'll add you to my list of people who are owed money. Thanks!
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